System for dividing drawers

ABSTRACT

The system for dividing drawers provides a partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the like. The system includes front and rear sets of upper and lower ribs adapted for mounting on interior faces of front and rear walls of a drawer. Each rib has a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper ribs being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower ribs. At least one divider panel having opposed front and rear edges slides into a selected pair of vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs, and a corresponding pair of vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs. Additionally, the divider panel is releasably secured to the front and rear walls of the drawer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to storage, and particularly to a system for dividing drawers that partitions a drawer into a plurality of compartments for the storage of pairs of shoes or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Drawers of dressers or chests typically define a single, open compartment. Although such drawers are well suited for the storage of large items, such as items of apparel, they are not well suited to smaller articles, or articles which a user may wish to have sorted, such as pairs of shoes. Although multi-compartment drawers are known, such multi-compartment drawers are typically manufactured with a permanent, pre-determined number of compartments defined therein. The user has no way to change the number or size of the compartments, depending on the user's changing storage needs.

Thus, a system for dividing drawers solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The system for dividing drawers provides an easy to use and install partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the like. The system includes a front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a front wall of a drawer and a corresponding rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a rear wall of the drawer. The front set of ribs includes an upper front rib and a lower front rib, and the rear set of ribs similarly includes an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib.

The upper front rib is adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the front wall of the drawer. Similarly, the upper rear rib is adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the drawer.

Each pair of front and rear ribs has a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in interior surfaces thereof, the slots being vertically aligned.

At least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges slidably engages aligned slots in the front and rear ribs. In addition to the sliding engagement of the at least one divider panel with the selected slots of the ribs, the at least one divider panel is additionally releasably secured to the front and rear walls of the drawer. In one embodiment, front and rear frictional engaging members are attached to the divider panel adjacent the front and rear edges thereof. Preferably, the front and rear frictional engaging members are spring-biased detent pins extending from the front and rear edges of the divider panel. In an alternative embodiment, front and rear hooks are attached to upper edges of the front and rear ends of the at least one divider panel for releasable attachment to upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental perspective view of a first embodiment of a system for dividing drawers according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial environmental perspective view of the system of FIG. 1, illustrating attachment of a pair of ribs the rear wall of a drawer, the divider panels being omitted to show details of the ribs.

FIG. 3 is a partial environmental perspective view of the system of FIG. 1, a divider panel being broker away at one end to show a detent pin.

FIG. 4 is a partial environmental perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a system for dividing drawers, the divider panel having a hook for securing the panel to the rear wall of the drawer.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The system for dividing drawers 10 provides an easy to use and install partitioning system for dividing a conventional drawer D into a plurality of compartments for separating pairs of shoes or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes both a front set of ribs 14 and a rear set of ribs 14 adapted for respective mounting on interior faces of a front wall 18 and rear wall 20 of drawer D. Each of the front and rear sets of ribs 14 includes an upper rib and a lower rib. The upper rib of each set is adapted for mounting adjacent the upper open end of the drawer D, and the lower rib is adapted for mounting adjacent a bottom wall 22 of the drawer D. It should be understood that the drawer D, shown in FIG. 1, is shown for exemplary purposes only, and that the system 10 may be used in combination with any conventional type of drawer. Similarly, the ribs 14 are shown with exemplary dimensions. It should be understood that the ribs 14 may be dimensioned and configured for use with particular sizes and styles of drawer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ribs 14 may be furnished in strips secured to the respective walls of drawer D by the use of screws 26 or other fasteners that extend through holes 28 in the ribs 14 and are fixed into tapped holes 30 in the wall. Although FIG. 2 illustrates the attachment of a rear set of ribs 14, it should be understood that the corresponding front set of ribs is also attached in a similar manner. Further, it should be understood that FIG. 2 illustrates only one exemplary method of mounting, and that ribs 14 may be secured to the respective front and rear walls 18, 20 of drawer D by any suitable method, such as nails, bolts, adhesives or the like.

As further shown in FIG. 2, each strip of ribs 14 has a plurality of vertically extending slots 24 formed in the interior faces thereof. The slots 24 of the upper ribs are aligned the slots 24 of the corresponding lower ribs. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, at least one divider panel 12 having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges slidably engage aligned slots 24 in the front and rear ribs 14.

It should be understood that the overall dimensions of the at least one divider panel 12 may depend upon the dimensions of the particular drawer D. Further, the overall configuration of the divider panel 12 may vary for ornamental purposes, or depending upon the nature of the goods to be stored within the compartments of drawer D. For example, the exemplary panel 12 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, having a scalloped to edge, may be replaced by a rectangular panel, a semi-circular panel, or any other desired panel configuration. Further, although FIG. 1 illustrates three panels 12 being used to divide the drawer D into four separate compartments for the storage of shoes or the like, it should be understood that any desired number of panels may be used, since the panels 12 are removable from the slots 24 and the drawer D. As shown in FIG. 1, stickers 16 or other indicia may be applied to the external face of front wall 18 to indicate the nature of the goods stored within the drawer D and/or the number of compartments defined therein by the panels 12. The panels 12 may be formed from wood, metal, plastic or any other suitable material. By removal, addition or adjustment of panels 12, the number and size of the compartments defined within the drawer D may be varied by the user.

In addition to the sliding engagement of the at least one divider panel 12 with the selected slots 24 of the ribs 14, the at least one divider panel 12 is additionally releasably secured to the front and/or rear walls 18, 20 of the drawer D. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, frictional engaging members 40 are secured to the at least one divider panel 12 adjacent the front and rear edges thereof. Although only the rear edge of divider panel 12 is shown in FIG. 3, it should be understood that a corresponding frictional engaging member is also secured to the front edge thereof. Preferably, the engaging members 40 are spring-biased detent pins 42 that are biased to extend from the front and rear edges of the divider panel, but are retractable into a blind bore or channel 44 that extends into the panel 12, although it should be understood that detent pin 42 may be mounted on an external face of the panel 12. If desired, the detent pins 42 may engage a corresponding recess in the front wall 18 and rear wall 20, respectively, but if so, the detent pin 42 should be equipped with a retraction pin. Additionally, although only a single member 40 is shown applied to each edge of the panel 12, it should be understood that multiple such members 40 may be mounted to each of the front and rear edges of panel 12.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 4, hooks 36 are secured to the upper edge 32 of each panel 12 adjacent at least the rear end thereof, or adjacent both the front and rear ends, for releasable attachment to the upper edge of the rear wall 18 (and front wall 20, when so equipped, of the drawer D. Although only the rear edge of divider panel 12 is shown in FIG. 4, it should be understood that a corresponding hook 36 may also be secured to the front edge thereof. It should be understood that the dimensions and configuration of the hook 36 are shown for exemplary purposes only, and that the hook 36 may be vary in dimension and configuration to match particular walls of a particular drawer D.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A system for dividing a drawer, comprising: a front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a front wall of a drawer, the front set of ribs including an upper front rib and a lower front rib, the upper front rib being adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib being adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the front wall of the drawer, each of the front ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper front rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower front rib; a rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of a rear wall of the drawer, the rear set of ribs including an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib, the upper rear rib being adapted for mounting adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib being adapted for mounting adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the drawer, each of the rear ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper rear rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower rear rib; at least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges, the front edge thereof slidably engaging a selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper front rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower front rib, the rear edge thereof slidably engaging a selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper rear rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower rear rib, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to a height of the at least one divider panel, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs also being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the height of the at least one divider panel, wherein the at least one divider panel is adapted for partitioning the drawer into a plurality of compartments, the front edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs and the rear edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs when said at least one divider panel engages therewith; and means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer, respectively.
 2. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear frictional engaging members secured to the at least one divider panel respectively adjacent the front and rear edges thereof.
 3. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said front and rear frictional engaging members comprises a spring-biased detent pin, the pin being biased to extend from the edge of the panel and retractable against the bias to the edge of the panel.
 4. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear hooks secured to upper edges of the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel, respectively, the hooks being adapted for releasable attachment to upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer.
 5. A drawer with removable dividers, comprising: a drawer having opposed front and rear walls, a lower wall and an open upper end; a front set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of the front wall of the drawer, the front set of ribs including an upper front rib and a lower front rib, the upper front rib being mounted adjacent an upper end of the front wall of the drawer, and the lower front rib being mounted adjacent a lower end of the front wall of the drawer, each of the front ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper front rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower front rib; a rear set of ribs adapted for mounting on an interior face of the rear wall of the drawer, the rear set of ribs including an upper rear rib and a lower rear rib, the upper rear rib being mounted adjacent an upper end of the rear wall of the drawer, and the lower rear rib being mounted adjacent a lower end of the rear wall of the drawer, each of the rear ribs having a plurality of vertically extending slots formed in an interior surface thereof, the plurality of vertically extending slots of the upper rear rib being aligned with the plurality of vertically extending slots of the lower rear rib; at least one divider panel having longitudinally opposed front and rear edges, the front edge slidably engaging a selected pair of vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper front rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower front rib, the rear edge slidably engaging a selected pair of vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs, the pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs including one of the vertically extending slots defined in the upper rear rib and an aligned one of the vertically extending slots defined in the lower rear rib, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to a height of the at least one divider panel, the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs also being spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the height of the at least one divider panel., wherein the at least one divider panel is adapted for partitioning the drawer into a plurality of compartments, the front edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the front set of ribs and the rear edge of the at least one divider panel extending continuously between the selected pair of the vertically extending slots of the rear set of ribs when said at least one divider panel engages therewith; and means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer, respectively.
 6. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 5, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear frictional engaging members secured to the at least one divider panel adjacent the front and rear edges thereof.
 7. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 6, wherein each of said front and rear frictional engaging members comprises a spring-biased detent pin, the pin being biased to extend from the edge of the panel and retractable against the bias to the edge of the panel.
 8. The system for dividing a drawer as recited in claim 5, wherein said means for releasably securing the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel to the front and rear walls of the drawer comprises front and rear hooks secured to upper edges of the front and rear edges of the at least one divider panel, respectively, the hooks being releasably attached to upper edges of the front and rear walls of the drawer. 